Why Mobile Is Important in Real Estate

by
MAR Staff | Aug 15, 2012

In the next year, mobile phones will bypass desktop computer sales and become the primary platform for Internet browsing. Today, 63 million Americans own a smartphone and 50% of them are between the ages of 25-35—the target age group for first-time homebuyers. Mobile consumers use their devices for research, location services, and communication. With the power of a desktop computer in the palm of your customers’ hands, it’s important to make sure you have a mobile website that is useful and effective.

What to Look for in a Mobile Site:

- Click To Call allows mobile sites to convert users on the spot by automatically pulling up your phone number or the number of the closest office to them. Tip: If you’re collecting data with Google Analytics, tag the click as an event and track it as a lead conversion.

- Using a visitor’s actual location enhances and speeds up their property search. A good mobile site will display properties near their current location and offer interactive map search tools that allow users to draw search areas with their fingers.

- Your mobile site should be easy to navigate; after all, it’s a phone the size of a wallet. Make sure it is optimized for all modern devices so that your user can easily and quickly find properties and contact information, or share listings with their friends via social media applications.

- With the advances in browser technology, your mobile site shouldn’t need a complicated URL. A good mobile site should seamlessly work with your desktop site and URL.

- Make sure your mobile site is correctly integrated into your desktop site so that search engines can properly index it for mobile searches. All of your content should be available via mobile devices and formatted correctly.

A mobile website can be a key part of your marketing and lead generation strategies. Eighty-eight percent of mobile users look for local information and contact a company within a day of using their site. Make sure your mobile website is up to par so that you don’t lose out on valuable local traffic and potential clients.

– John Merse, Marketing Manager, Union Street Media

About MAR

The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade association for licensed real estate practitioners and is affiliated with the state's 15 local REALTOR® associations.